Locker



mums

M. S. HART wait. 14; 1924. i

LOCKER Filed Jan. 10

A TTORNEY.

IVlCAXiWELL S. HART, OF NEW BRITAIN, BUllt hllilUlICUCll.

noennia.

Application filed. January 10, 19%. Seriallito. 6%,399.

To all whom it may concern: ferrediorin oi? locker unit, shown with the Be itlrnown that l, liliixwnnn S. HART, doors in closed position. I a citizen of the United States, and a men Fig. 2 1s a fragmentary rear view of the dent of New Britain, county of Hartford, front wall of the locker unit, showing the and State of Connecticut, have invented construction of the door locking mechanism. certain new and useful improvements in ,Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view Lockers, of which the following is a specioi the front portion of the upper hat comtication. partment taken along the line 33 of This invention relates to clothing lockers, 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

' W and more particularly to what may be Fig. 4 is a fragmentary rear view of the termed a duplex locker unit for individual door of the left-hand coat compartment and use, each unit including two separate sets of the slidable locking bar cooperating there compartments, each set comprising a hat with said parts being shown in separated compartment and a. coat compartment all relation.

15 arranged so as to occupy the minimum The former type or individual clothing amount of door space and at the same time locker for use in clubs, factories, schools, having suihcient space for the proper storetc, was usually rectangular in shape and age oi clothing. V had a sheli at the top, upon which the hat,

@ne object of this invention is to provide lunch box, etc, of the individual were to 20 a locker unit of the above nature in which be placed. The compartment below the 7.; both compartments of a set may be locked shelf was used to receive his coat and other by a locking means in common thereto'and garments. Owing to the fact that a hangindependent of the locking means for the mg coat or other garmei'it generally ccu- I th r et, pies considerably less width of the locker 25 A further object of this invention is to than the users hait, lunch box, etc, it reprovide a device of the above nature in sulted that only a portion of the space in which both doors of the hat and coat comthe coat compartment was utilized. partments heloi'ip'ing to one individual may Attempts have been made to economize be if desired, simultaneously locked by the space in such locker systems by employing 3% operation of a single locking mechanism. two separate sets of lockers, the lockers oi W A further object isto provide a locker one set being long and narrow to receive unit having a pair of relatively narrow. coats, and the lockers oi the other set being coat compartments arranged side by side and short and wide to receive hats, lunch boxes, associated with a pair of relatively wide hat etc. Such systems were subject to the disadcompartments. vantage that the two lockers for any one no A. further object is to provide a duplex individual were often located far away locker unit having both hat compartments from each other, making it inconvenient to arranged directly above a pair of coat comuse them simultaneously. A further disadpartments so that all of the compartments vantage was that the user was required to Kl). will be in the most convenient and accesoperate two different locks to open the sible positions. lockers.

A. further object is to provide a locker By means of the present invention, the unit of the individual type having the miniabove and other disadvantages have been mum number of key-operated locking de entirely avoided. This has been accom- 45 i plished by providing a locker unit having it still further object is to provide alocker tWo long and narrow vertical coat compart of the above nature which will be simple, ments and two short and wide horizontal inexpensive to manufacture, compact in size, hat compartments arranged directly above and very efficient and durable in use. the coat compartments, each of said coin-- With these and other objects in view, partments having its own separate door. 10.; there have been illustrated in the accom- Independent locking means for each set is panying drawings, two forms in which the provided within the space above the coat invention may be conveniently embodied in compartments and below the hat coinpart' practice. w merits. In the particulartorm shown herein,

mi ldig. l is a perspective View of the prethe locking means for each set of doors in) lar form shown,

is carried by the body of the locker instead of by the doors. Also, in this form, the locking means for each set of doors is such that either door of a set may be unlatched Without unlatching the other door.

Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, the preferred embodiment of locker unit herein illustrated, comprises side walls 10 and 11, front and rear walls 12 and 13, and top and bottom walls 14 and'15. In the particuthe space-inside the locker is divided into five compartments by means of three horizontal partitions 16, 17, and 18 located near the top of the locker, and a vertical partition 19 located in the lower part of the locker, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. :The two horizontal upper compartments between the top wall 14 and the partition 17 extend the full width of the locker and are designed to be used for receiving hats, lunch boxes, etc. These compartments will be hereinafter designated as the hat compartments.

The relatively long and narrow compartments formed in the lower part of the locker and separated by the vertical partition 19 will be hereinafter designated as the coat compartments. r

It will be understood that-if desired, the lower horizontalpartition 18 may be omitted, in which case the entire space below the partition 17 may be utilized for the separated coat. compartments.

The right-hand coat compartment and the upper hat compartment of the locker unit are adapted. to be privately used as a set by one individual, while the left-hand coat compartment and the lower .hat compartment are adapted to be privately used as a.

set by a second individual, thereby acc ommo-' dating two individuals in the one unit described. It is within the spirit of the invention to reverse the above arrangement, in which case one individual will use the right-hand coat compartment and the lower hat compartment, while the second individual will use the left-hand coat compartment and the upper hatcompartment.

The hat compartment at the top of the locker unit is provided with a door 20 adapted to swing about a vertical axis' on hinges 21 at the left-hand side of the locker frame, said door having a handle or knob 22, by means of which it may be moved to open or closed position. The lower hat compartment is provided with a similar door 23, but in this instance, the door is adapted to swing out in the opposite direction on hinges 24 located at the opposite side of the locker 'frame. The coat compartments are adapted to be closed by a pair of doors 26 and 27 hinged to the front adjacent the edge of the vertical partition 19. By this novel hinge arrangement for the several doors, the

I of providing effective and yet simple locking means for each set of doors is greatly facilitated and simplified.

Each of the doors 20, 23, 26, and 27 is provided on its inner edge with an elongated Z-shaped locking flange 28 preferably welded in place. The outer leg 29 of each Z-shaped flange is parallel to the plane of its associated door and has a cut-out section 29 near the top thereof. The lower part of each cut-out section. is provided with an inwardly bent cam projection 30, for a purpose to be hereinafter specified.

Each of the hat and coat compartment doors' is adapted to be latched by means of problem vertical sliding bars 31, 32, 33, and 34 re-- locking bars 33 and 34, together with a co-acting bolt55, hereinafter described, con-- .stitute the locking means for the other set of compartment doors, these bars being located on the left-hand side of the locker frame. The inwardly projecting sides of the, several locking bars 31, 32, 33, and 34 are provided near their upper ends with cut-out portions 35, 36, 37 and 38, respectively. a

In order to latch the doors in closed position, each of the aforesaid bars is provided with a horizontallyextending lug 39, 40, 41, and 42 respectively, which may be secured thereto in any suitable way, as by welding. These lugs respectively project through the cutout portions 35, 36, 37, and 38, and are adapted to lie behind the cam projections 30 of the Z-shaped flanges 28 when the doors are closed. By the unique arrangement of hinging the aforesaid doors,

both doors of one set open from one edge In the operation of closing the doors, the

cam projections 30 on the doors will force the lugs 39, 40, 41, and ing'said lugs to ride up over the cam projections 30 and to drop by gravity into the spaces behind said projections. The upper portions of the upper bars 31 and 33, and the lower portions of thelower bars 32 and 34 are provided with vertical slots 43, 44,

42 upwardly, caus- 15, and re respectively, which are adapted to fit over stationary guiding pins on the trout frame 12 of the locker. The other ends of said sliding bars are provided with they may both be grasped by one hand oi the operator, leaving his other hand free to open the doors.

lln order to dead-lock the two sets of latching bars in the positions shown in Fig. 2,

' two independent key-operated locking devices 51 and 52 are provided within the space between the partitions 17 and 18, said'devices being secured to the front wall 12 of the locker in approximate alinement with the E l-shaped locking flanges 28. The looking devices 51 and 52 are provided with key receiving members 53 and 54 respectively, extending through the front wall 12 so as to be readily manipulated by persons using the lockers. The locking devices 51 and 52 are provided with horizontal slidable dead-locking bolts 55 and 56 respectively, which are adapted to be moved into cut-out portions 51 and 58 on the inner flanges of the upper sliding bars 31 and 33 to hold the same from being moved to release the upper doors. The dead-locking bolts will then' be directly above the tops of the lower sliding bars 32 and 34C, and will prevent said bars from upward movement. When the parts are in this position, the doors will be positively locked securely in place.

In order to prevent the upper end of the lower sliding bars 32 and 34 from interfering with the lower end of the upper sliding bars 31 and 33, the inner flanges of the bars 32 and 34 are cut down at 59 for a short distance and the frontsides which engage the flat front wall of the locker are oil-set rearwardly so as to lie behind the lower ends of the upper bar 31 and 33. It will thus be seen that the locking devices 51 and 52 will serve to dead-lock both sets of doors 20, 2? and 23, 26 respectively. lit will be evident that the upper sliding bar 31 on the righthand side of the locker must be made considerably longer than the bar 33 on account of the fact that its upper end must be opposite the Z-shaped flange 23 on the free edge of the upper hat compartment door 20.

In operation, when an individual desires to place his hat and coat in the locker as for example, in the lower hat compartment and the left-hand coat compartment it will merely be necessary for him to insert a key in the key-receiving member 53 and turn it in the proper direction to withdraw the dead-locking bolt 55 from the sliding bars 33 and 3st. He will then grasp the knobs 4:7 and as on the left side of the locker and door 27, only the knob 48 will be raised to permit said door to be opened.

By the term common as'applied to the means for locking the doors of a set of com-- partments, it will be understood that such means includes any device in said set not individual to a particular compartment, whereby said compartment may be unlocked by the operation of a device external thereto...

It also includes any means within the set compartments whereby access is permitted to two compartments by unlocking a single lock.

One important advantage of this invention lies in thei'act that hats and other ar ticles in the hat compartments can not posi sibly be injured by drippings from umbrellas or rubber shoes located in the coat com-- partments, which injury was possible with certain lockers of this type wherein one of the hat compartments was situated under neath the coat compartments. 7

While there have been disclosed in this specification one form in which the i1avention may be embodied it is to be understood that this form is shown for the purpose ol' illustration only, and that the invention is not to be limited to the specific disclosure but may be modified and embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit. in short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodiment-q coming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new, and for which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. lln a duplex. locker unit, a pair of nar row coat compartments arranged vertically and side by side, a pair of wider hat compartments arranged horizontally above said coat compartments and one above the other, individual doors for closing each oi said compartments, and common means co-acting with one of said coat compartment doors and one of said hat compartment doors for locking the same.

2. In a duplex locker unit, pair of narrow coat compartments arranged vertically and side by side, a pair of wider hat corn-- partments arranged horizontally above said coat compartments and one above the other,

llll

individual doors for closing each of said compartments, common means co acting with one of said coat compartment doors and one of" said hat compartment doors, and independent common means enacting with ltlll' partment doors,

the other coat compartment 'door and the other hat compartment door for locking the same. Q

3. In a locker unit, two narrow coat compartments arranged vertically and side by side, two wider hat compartments arranged horizontally above said coat compartments and one above the other, separate doors for closing each of said compartments, and common means for locking one of said hat com partment ClOOIs and one of said coat'comsaid means comprising sliding latching bars adjacent the free edges of said doors, means on said doors for -engaging said bars to hold the doors closed, and means for holding said bars from sliding, whereby said doors will be securely locked in closed position.

4. In a locker unit, two narrow coat-compartments arranged vertically and side by side, two wider hat compartments arranged above said coat compartments and one above the other, separate doors for closing each of said compartments, and common means for locking one hat compartment door and one coat compartment door, said means comprising separate vertical latching bars, one adjacent the free edgeof each door, means on each door for engaging its respective latchin bar to hold the door closed, and

deadloc ring means for preventing said compartments,

latching bars from sliding, whereby said doors will be locked in closed position.

5. In a locker unit, a pair of narrow vertical coat compartments arranged side by side, a'pair of wide horizontal hat compartments arranged above said coat compartments and one above the other, separate doors for closing each of said compartments,

each of said doors having a cam member adjacent its free edge, separate sliding bars for each door on the front of said locker unit adjacent said cam members, each of said bars having a latching lug adapted to be forced upwardly to clear its respective cam member and adapted to move down behind said cam member when said door is closed and means for independently operating each sliding-bar.

6. In alocker, a frame comprising a plu rality of sets of associated separate clothing each set comprising. a relatively narrow coat compartment at the low er part of the frame and a relatively wider hat compartment above the same and extending the full width of said frame and each set adapted to be used privatelyby a single individual, separate doors for closing each compartment, and separate lockmg means common to each set for locking of narrow vertical the doors of said respective sets of compartments.

7. In a duplex clothing locker unit, alocker frame, an upright partition in said frame forming a pair of narrow coat compartments, doorshin ed adjacent said upright partition for c osing said coat compartments, a pair of spaced transverse partitions arranged within said frame above said coat compartments, said transverse partitions extending the full Width of both coat compartments and forming a pair of wide hat compartments, one hat compartment door hinged to one side wall of said frame and the otherhat compartment door hinged to the opposite side wall of said frame, and common means for locking one of said coat compartment doors and one of said hat compartment doors, said means being adjacent the free edges of said doors.

8. In a duplex lockerunit, an external locker frame and partitions therein forming a pair of narrow vertical compartments arranged side by side, and a pair of horizontal wide compartments arranged above said vertical compartments and one above the other and extending substantially the full Width of both vertical compartments, the uppermost horizontal compartment and one of said vertical compartments comprising one individual set, and thelowermost horizontal compartment and the other vertical compartment comprising a second individual set, with doors for each compartment, and common locking means for each of said separate sets respectively.

9. In a duplex locker unit for a system of 'private clothing lockers, an external locker frame and partitions therein forming a pair compartments arranged side by side, and a pair of horizontal compartments arranged above said vertical compartments and one above the other and extending substantially the full width of both vertical compartments, the uppermost horizontal compartment and one of said vertical compartments comprising one individual set, and the lowermost horizontal compartmentand the other vertical compartment comprising a second individual set, with doors for each compartment, and common locking means for each of said separate sets respectively, each of said locking means including a common dead-locking device and independent latching devices for each door of the set.

In testimony whereof, I have afiixed my signature to this specification.

I MAXWELL S. HART. 

